Revealed: Prince William, Prince Harry, Kate, Pippa and the other young royals at 60, courtesy of forensic science

Revealed: Prince William, Prince Harry, Kate, Pippa and the other young royals at 60, courtesy of forensic science

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UPDATED:

22:31 GMT, 6 August 2012

With a deepening ring of wrinkles around her neck and crows’ feet at the corners of her eyes, the Duchess of Cambridge is beginning to show the tell-tale signs of ageing.

Her trademark glossy locks have been cut to a flattering shoulder length and have been allowed to go gently grey. A lifetime of smiling at cheering crowds has left creases around her mouth and her once gleaming white teeth have lost their sheen.

This is how the former Kate Middleton, now Queen Catherine, might look at 60.

Gracefully grey: At 60, Queen Catherine has lost a little of her radiance but she is growing old elegantly

Bald truth: King William V has lost his hair but has escaped the ravages of time with his smooth complexion

Playboy prince: Unlike his brother, Harry has kept his hair, but years of partying are etched into his face

The image has been produced by Teri Blythe, 38, a forensic artist who is an expert in predicting how people may look 20, 30, 40 years down the line.

With a background in human anatomy and osteology, the study of bones, Blythe has helped numerous police forces and missing persons organisations to try to work out how someone who vanished years ago might look today.

Earlier this year, she worked with police on a photo of how Madeleine McCann, who went missing in Portugal in 2007, might look today.

Here, she has applied her forensic skills to the most famous family in the world.

Blythe collected numerous photographs of each Royal and analysed their features to see how the skin might be affected by ageing — where wrinkles might develop and where gravity might take effect. She then carefully compared the royals as they are now to their parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents, then also considered whether they are likely to put on or lose weight

And what a tantalising glimpse into the future the composite photos offer. While Kate maintains her immaculate, blow-dried waves into her 60s, her husband King William V fares less well. His hair, already thinning at the crown in 2012, has all but gone. Bald, he looks more like his uncle Prince Edward than he does his father Charles.

Middle-aged Middleton: With her sister now Queen, Pippa has become rather matronly

Regally blonde: An outdoor life has given Zara Phillips a few crows feet, but forensic Teri kept the golden hair

Royal wrinkles: Princess Eugenie has creases round her eyes and mouth and an unflattering bowl-like hair cut

Blythe says that Kate was the most difficult to do. ‘First, we are so familiar with what she looks like and second, she is so beautiful. But the clue was in the fact that her mother Carole, 57, still looks great. So, it’s clear Kate will age well.’

Prince William posed a different problem and she hopes her vision of his hairline will not cause Royal offence. ‘He’s not going to have much hair left on top. But he is still a very handsome man.’

Prince Harry, by comparison, has maintained a full head of hair in Blythe’s image, mostly grey but still with a hint of ginger. A misspent youth as the hard-partying playboy Prince has left him with somewhat weathered skin and broken veins across his cheeks and temples. ‘With Prince Harry I used a bit of artistic licence.’ she admits.

Zara Phillips has remained a devoted bottle blonde and her hair is as radiantly golden at 60 as it was when she won her first Olympic medal at 31, while her cousin Princess Eugenie has developed deep creases around her eyes and mouth and, having adopted a stern pudding-bowl cut, looks increasingly like Tory MP Ann Widdecombe.

Finally, with her sister now Queen, the once foxy Pippa Middleton with her cascade of dark, flowing hair, has become rather matronly. Her hair has been cut into a middle-aged bob and a heavy fringe hides her forehead wrinkles.

It is not an exact science, but it certainly offers an intriguing glimpse of what the younger royals might look like in years to come.